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Wednesday, 31 October 2012

'Such Wicked Intent' by Kenneth Oppel Book Review

From the award winning author of Airborn, 'Such Wicked Intent' is the follow up to the dark teen novel 'This Dark Endeavour'.

Following the tragic death of his twin brother Konrad, Victor is in remorse over his meddlings with the elixir of life and the whole house is in mourning. The books from the dark library are burned but when Victor discovers a metallic book which survived the fire with instructions to communicate with the dead, his interest is piqued.

With his childhood friends Elizabeth and Henry, Victor is reunited with his brother in the shadow world and together, try to bring Konrad back to life. But something is stirring from the depths of the chateau, something dark, which may prevent them from returning to the real world.

If you thought 'This Dark Endeavour' was dark, this follow up is even darker. Themes of death, love, betrayal, resurrection, spirituality are all in the mix and the characters dwell in even more obscure measures- the imagination runs wild with this novel.

Though slightly unbelievable, the essence of what is described creates an atmospheric and engrossing world, one of mystery and of beauty. There are some scenes you can feel are truly cinematic.

There is a decent amount of character development, some humour, some romance and a lot of nudity (lol). I wasn't too sure on where the love triangle was heading but this book definitely brings it to another level.

As the book reaches its climax, you wonder if Konrad really will be able to come back- and what will happen next? The resolve is shocking, sad and isn't entirely satisfying. It wasn't the ending I wanted, but it was probably for the best.

Overall, 'Such Wicked Intent' contains even darker themes than the first and brings all the characters back for another mysterious adventure into the dark past of the chateau. The story is yet to be finished and I wonder how it will all end. The last book to this series is yet to be announced, but the first book has been optioned for a movie- so maybe we'll see that in production soon!